The end of another full time rodeo season, a couple of injured horses and the start of school has given me more time to spend on the layout. Lately though, I've been researching old newspaper articles. Specifically, I've been looking for items that pertain to factual stuff like the dates things were built, structures, colors, schedules, locomotive assignments and so forth.
I recently read a post on another blog (sorry, I don't remember which one!), that has made me think about something that is maybe just as important. And without knowledge of it, how could I portray the place, time and mood of the location I am modeling? I can build a model right down to every nut, bolt and rivet of the prototype. But what is the story behind it which would really help bring my scenes to life? At least to myself anyways.
I've been interested in and researching the South Park Line for 30 years. The names of South Park railroaders like Anderson, Colligan, Oshier and Speas to name just a few; conjure up visions of great adventures on the High Line. Their stories have been well documented. But what about the supporting actors? Those whose stories were lost long ago?
Dickey was not a town. It was a junction point on the railroad that just happened to be in the middle of a large ranching community. There was no central business district. The C&S depot and eating house at Dickey had become the gathering place for the local residents. Dickey was abandoned in 1938 and has been at the bottom of Dillon Reservoir since 1963.
In my quest for information, I've come across long forgotten stories about the life of the people in Dickey and the Blue River area. I would like to present bits and pieces of them here. I will occasionally post a newspaper clipping in a regular blog story titled "Along The Blue". They are raw and uncut. Told with the style so typical of the period. Some are long and some are short. Some are funny and some are sad. But they all give a sense of a place and time, long ago gone and almost forgotten.
~ Cowboy Up!
Oh I'm looking forward to this. It's true that historical accounts often focus on the what, when, and where, but vey little on the why and the how - at least the details of the why and the how. Klinger's books do a pretty good job of this but there is a lot more to the day to day and individual activity of a location to know about. Great idea!
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Thanks d!
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to understand what life was like for the people who inhabited the places of long ago which we try to replicate in miniature. I've posted the first episode. Enjoy!